The Pulpit Commentary — Jeremiah — Volume 1 — Section 507

of the analogous phro.se, "And H shall come king shall reign in righteousness" disproves to pass in that day," would lead us to sup- the strictly Messianic reference of his earlier pose that this verse describes o. fresh sta"'e promise in Isa. xi. I. All prophecy is con- in the progress of events, o.s if the faithf~l ditional; there may have been moral reasons shepherds (ver. 4) were to precede the why a continuance of the Daviclic clynasty "righteous Branch" (ver. 5). Such a view, was helcl out by Jeremiah at one time as a however, is not very plausible, for the Mes- possible prospect. (It is, however, extremely siah, according to prophecy, is to appear in probable that eh. xxxiii. 14-26 is the work the darkest of times. The prophet simply or some other inspire,! writer; see ad loc.) means to impress upon us the greataess of The thirty-fourth chapter of Ezekiel, which the revelation which he is about to commu- is so closely parnllel to this section, appean nicate. I will raise unto David. The pro- to interpret the prophecy of a single Mes- mised Messiah, then, is certainly to be of sianic king (Ezek. xxxiv. 23). And a King the family of David (comp.Isa. ix. 7; xi. l ; shall reign; rather, and he shall reign as l\Iicah v. 2). A righteous Branch; rather, lcing; i.e. he shall be the realized ideal of a righteous Plant: the root means "to bud, an Isracliti.;ih king-o. seP-ond David. And or sprout." This is the first time in which prosper ; or, and deal wisely. There is th, the title "the Plant" is unmistakably ap- same doubt as to the rendering of the verb plied to the Jlfossianic King (possibly, but in Isa. Iii. 13 a. The raclical iclea is that of less probably, to the Messianic ki11gs). It wisdom, and the analogy of Isa. xi. 2 fovo11I11 indicates that this great personage stands the alternative renclering here. Shall exe- in connection with the divinely ordained cute judgment; in contrast to the neglect• and ancient royal family, but that he is in fol coucluct of Jehoiakim (eh. xxii. 3). some way unique, and far surpasses his Ver. 6.-Israel shall dwell safely. In the human ancestors. He "springs forth; " parallel passage ( eh. xxxiii. 16) we read therefore he is not a sort of meteoric appear- "Jerusalem," and there can hardly be a ance, without any natural home among men, doubt that "Jerusalem" ought to be re- but rather the blossom of the Jewish nation, stored here. 'fhis is not the only instance the embodiment of its highest qualities. in which, by mistake, the scribe has written And yet there is something extraordinary " Israel" instead of "Jerusl\lem" (see oh. about him, for it is needful that Jehovah xxxii. 30, 32; Ii. 49 ; Zeph. iii. 14; Zech. himself shoultl "raise" this Plant from the xii. I). In Zech. i. 19 the scribe discovered almost worn-out stock of David. Note that his misto.ke, and wrote the right word, "Je- the word renderetl here in the Authorized rusalem," o.fter the wrong one," Isro.el," bnt Version " Branch " is not the so.rue o.s that without cancelling the latter (Grii.tz, 'Mo- in the parallel passage in Isaiah (xi. I). It untsschrift,' 1880, pp. 97-101). And this i11, however, the word employed in Isa. iv. 2, is his name whereby he sho.ll be called. whioh is taken by many, especially the There is n vnrious reading, wliich may be older interpreters (but with very doubtful rendered either, whereby they shall call (/1im, justice), to be a prophecy of the Messio.h. It or her), or, which they shall proclaim, sup- is o.lso the word used by Zecho.rio.h ( iii. 8 ; portecl by the Peshito, Targum, Vulgo.te, and vi. 12), o.s a proper name of tlie Messiah, a few manuscripts (St. Jerome, too, mentions whioh is one strong reo.son for rejecting the this reading). There is also a more impor- viow mentioned above tho.t the word n,n- tant difference among the commento.tors o.s dered " the Branch," or "the Plo.nt," is to the person who wo.s to beo.r the no.me. The to be taken collectively as equivo.lent to older (.)hristinu interpreters contcmlecl with "branches," or rather "plo.nts" (the article o.ll their might for the view that the name ie not expressed iu the Hebrew). In short, belonged to the Messi1\h, po.rtly on real this passage and the prophecies referred to philologico.l grounds, pnrtly with the illegiti- in Jeremiah are exceptions to the general mate theologit-al object of obtuiuing a proof- Old Testament usage of the Hebrew word text for the orthodox doctrine of the person (femalch), which is elsewhere a collective of the Messiah l\nd (in the cnse of Protestant term equivalent to "plantation." It is true writers) of justification. It is much to the that in var. 4 "shepherds," in the plum!, credit of Hongsteu berg tho.t he sets this ere spoken of, but there is no reason why object aside, o.nd whilo mainto.ining the this title should be confined to kings-it l\lessio.uic reference of the pronoun, interprets mo.y as fairly be extended to the chief rulers the name with a single eye to the require- under o. king as the term "king" itself (see ments of tlltl context, "He by whom and on oh. xvi i. 20); and true, further, that iu untlor whom Jchov1\h will be our righteous- oh. xuiii. l 7 o. continuous succes:iion is ness.'' 'l'he objection is, that in the pumllel promised of Davidio heirs to tho thrnue, !Jut po.ssage (eh. xxxiii. 16) Jercmio.h ussigus this is not decisive in favolll" of tho collec- tho name "Jehovah-Tsidkouu," not to tho tive meo.niu"', any more thau fauiah's later Jl1cssiah, hut to Jerusalem. 'l'he prophet prophecy that "the [reiguin;; Da.vitlio] must ho allowed to bo his best interpreter, JERElllAll, 2L  614 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET JEHEMIAH. [cu. xxm. 1-H\.